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Tuesday, 12 September 2017

Review: Ashes of Honor - Seanan McGuire

It's been almost a year since October "Toby" Daye averted a war, gave up a county, and suffered personal losses that have left her wishing for a good day's sleep. She's tried to focus on her responsibilities - training Quentin, upholding her position as Sylvester's knight, and paying the bills - but she can't help feeling like her world is crumbling around her, and her increasingly reckless behaviour is beginning to worry even her staunchest supporters.

To make matters worse, Toby's just been asked to find another missing child . . . only this time it's the changeling daughter of her fellow knight, Etienne, who didn't even know he was a father until the girl went missing. Her name is Chelsea. She's a teleporter, like her father. She's also the kind of changeling the old stories warn about, the ones with all of the strength and none of the control. She's opening doors that were never meant to be opened, releasing dangers that were sealed away centuries before - and there's a good chance she could destroy Faerie if she isn't stopped.

Now Toby must find Chelsea before time runs out, racing against an unknown deadline and through unknown worlds as she and her allies try to avert disaster. But danger is also stirring in the Court of Cats, and Tybalt may need Toby's help with the biggest challenge he's ever faced.

Review:
I've been hooked on this series since the very beginning but it really is just getting better and better with every single book, partly because I'm so invested in the characters now but equally because Seanan McGuire is doing such a fantastic job at coming up with interesting plots and adding lots of intrigue. Ashes of Honor is definitely my favourite book so far and I'm not afraid to admit that it's mostly because we get to see so much of Tybalt in this one. I am so totally on board the Toby Tybalt ship and I loved the development we see between the two of them in this book, they share some really sweet and heartfelt conversations and kissing. Lots of really fantastic kissing!

This book isn't all about the romance though and when Toby is asked to help locate a missing changeling child it brings back all sorts of emotions from the end of the last book. Toby has been in a dark place since the end of One Salt Sea and even though it's been nearly a year she's nowhere near close to dealing with the losses she suffered. Her actions have been verging on suicidal and her friends are all incredibly worried about her so when Etienne asks her to help him find his missing changeling daughter they worry it will push her too close to the edge. Toby isn't one to back down from a challenge though and there is no way she can leave a vulnerable child out there alone and in need of help so as usual she pushes through her own heartache to do what needs to be done.

Chelsea is a rare and dangerous type of changeling, one who has received all the power of her fae parent and more but none of the control she needs to wield it safely. As a teleporter she is capable of travelling far greater distances than Etienne and her instincts have caused her to start opening doors deep into the heart of faerie, doors that were sealed shut by Oberon centuries ago and aren't meant to be reopened. An unfortunate side effect of the doors she is opening is that it is making the parts of faerie that they do have access to increasingly unstable and there is a risk of the knowes collapsing and killing anyone who gets trapped inside. It is up to Toby to find Chelsea before she can do irreparable damage and then she will have to offer Chelsea the changeling's choice, a choice that will cost her greatly no matter how she chooses to answer.

Ashes of Honor is full of action and we get to see parts of faerie that we've not come across before which I found really interesting. Not only is there fantastic development between Toby and Tybalt but we get some really great moments between her and some of her many friends like May and Quentin as she starts to realise just how much she means to them and how worried they've all been. Other favourites like the Luidaeg and April all have parts to play and we meet some interesting new faces along the way too. We also get to find out a lot more about the Court of Cats, there is definitely trouble brewing there for Tybalt and it was great to see him and Toby working alongside each other to fix things. This book just left me more excited about the series than ever and I can't wait to pick up the next instalment!

Source: Received from DAW Books in exchange for an honest review.

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